Arlington County (as in the government) often says – in promotional posters, event sponsorships, etc. – that it is a bike-friendly place.  But it’s not always clear to everyone what Arlington County actually does to be a bike-friendly environment.   To help shed some light on that, I’m passing along an Arlington County memo I received earlier today.  It’s from March, and discusses a number of events that have come to pass, but I think it remains relevant and will be of interest to many of you:

Date:   March 25, 2009
To:       Dennis Leach, Transportation Director, DES
From:   Chris Hamilton, Commuter Services Chief, DES Transportation
RE:       2009 Outreach and Education Efforts to Promote Bicycling

This is to bring you up to date on the staff efforts regarding
calendar year 2009 efforts to promote biking in Arlington. We’re
committed to supporting Arlington’s status as a Silver Level
Bicycle-Friendly City and promoting bicycling as a transportation
option for persons of all abilities through education and outreach.
In response to budget and staff constraints we’re looking at
reshaping some activities, including the Community Bike Ride. Here’s
an overview:

Elevating Bike Culture In Arlington. On December 16, we hosted an
inter-departmental work-shop at which nearly 40 staff from DES
Transportation, CPHD Parks and Cultural Affairs, Police, ACPS, CPHD
and others met to discuss elevating Arlington’s bike culture. The
workshop, led by Charlie Denney and a team from Alta Planning
provided best practices from around the world and allowed for
brainstorming on how Arlington could do the same. Next steps include:
setting up a permanent County Inter-departmental Working Group for
Bicycle Issues; prioritizing strategies that can be implemented from
the Bicycle Element of the Master Transportation Plan; expanding the
discussion beyond staff to include the BAC, non-profits, businesses
and the general public; expanding educational and outreach efforts;
implementing bikesharing; and looking into holding Sunday Cyclovia
and other events for 2010.

[more after the break]

2009 Arlington-Alexandria Community Bike Ride (CBR). The CBR is the
most expensive and staff intensive activity the program undertakes so
we’re exploring options that utilize fewer resources and allow us to
reallocate those resources for a more sustained effort throughout the
year. As a result, this year we’re piloting a change in the date and
operation of the ride. Staff is discussing with Alexandria and the
District to join the private-sector operated BikeDC ride in September
or October 2009 and making it a BikeDC/Alexandria/Arlington ride. If
this doesn’t work out (because it doesn’t save resources) then we
will explore less costly and staff intensive ride options for
September that coincide with International Car-Free Week.

Bike to Work Day. Staff is participating in the regional Bike to Work
Day event on Friday, May 15, 2009 and will have a pit stop in
Rosslyn. The Arlington Pit Stop should have 1,000+ registrants and is
the 2nd most attended stop, Freedom Plaza in DC being #1, in the
region. Arlington Transportation Partners (ATP) is stuffing thousands
of fliers into its quarterly newsletter packets to local employers
and has a big center spread on the Bike to Work Day event. In
addition the bike map is also being stuffed into the packets.

4-Mile Trail Crossing of I-395. The construction of this trail under
I-395 connecting 4-Mile Run and W&OD trails is a significant capital
improvement for bikers seeking a quicker, more convenient cross
Arlington connection. With the official grand opening in May, staff
will implement an outreach program to let people know this is available.

Bikesharing. An RFP is on the street to implement a small bikesharing
pilot project. Alexandria and Arlington are likely to provide a joint
program. Discussions are still ongoing to provide a regional program
that would include Arlington/Alexandria joining DC’s program,
although this may prove difficult. Proposals are due April 2. The
selection committee includes bike staff from DDOT and the City of
Alexandria. It is anticipated that a program will begin by the spring
of 2010 at the latest. Staff is still seeking additional funding to
provide the small pilot a better chance for success by providing more
bikes from the beginning.

Confident City Cycling Classes. Staff is hosting free adult education
bicycle safety classes between April and October on the following dates:
4/7: 6:00pm-9:00pm – Lee Community Center (CCC1, In-CJlass)
4/18: 1:00pm-4:00pm – Shirlington Library (CCC1, In-Class)
5/6: 6:00pm-9:00pm – Arlington County Offices (CCC1, In-Class)
5/23-1:00pm-4:00pm – Arlington Public Schools Parking Deck Over I-66
(CCC2, On-Bike)
6/13: 1:00pm-4:00pm – Arlington Central Library (CCC1, In-Class)
7/11: 1:00pm-4:00pm- Fairlington Community Center (CCC1, In-Class)
9/9: 6:00pm-9:00pm – Walter Reed Community Center (CCC1,In-Class,
Spanish translation provided)
9/19: 1:00pm-4:00pm – Arlington Public Schools Parking Deck Over I-66
(CCC2, On-Bike)

Bicycle Map. Staff will begin working in April to significantly
improve the current Bicycle Map and is looking at including this in a
future issue of the Citizen.

Safe Bicycling in the Washington Area, which is a driver’s manual for
cyclists, will be reprinted this spring.

Regional Street Smart campaign. Staff is participating in the
development and marketing of the regional Street Smart pedestrian and
bicycle safety campaign.

BikeArlington.com. Staff is maintaining the BikeArlington.com Website
and writing content for the CommuterPageBlog around promoting bicycling.

Lights for Bikes. Staff is coordinating the annual Lights for Bikes
safety campaign in November.

Walk and Bike to School Day. Staff is coordinating with Arlington
Public Schools for the annual event in October and will work with one
select school to provide maps and kits for the kids.

Pubic Education on Sharing Trails. Staff is producing a flyer and web
piece this spring on tips for sharing trails and sidewalks for
pedestrians and bicyclists.

Arlington’s Car-Free Diet. Biking information is included in all
collateral and web promotions for Arlington’s Car-Free Diet and will
be included in the Car-Free Diet direct mailer to Crystal
City/Pentagon City this spring.

Publicity. Articles promoting bicycling are forthcoming in The
Citizen, ATP Solutions newsletter  and ART Forum newsletter including
articles on on 4-Mile Ribbon cutting, Bike to Work Day and Confident
City Cycling Classes.

Bike Counts. Staff is  again be fielding teams of as many as 40
volunteers for bicycle and pedestrian counts in May, July and September.

May 2nd 4-Mile Run Event. As part of the May 2nd 4-Mile Run Ribbon
Cutting Ceremony staff is helping the Bicycle Advisory Committee form
rides from Bluemont and Rosslyn to the event.

Bicycle Facilities & TDM. The TDM planning and enforcement unit has
recently inspected 42 older site plan buildings to make sure that the
site plan mandated bicycle facilities were built correctly and
usable. As a result numerous buildings have adjusted or reconstructed
their bike facilities to function better. The unit has continued its
proactive program of information dissemination to developers and
building managers to make it easier for them to build and maintain
the facilities correctly. The unit provides design advice and
pre-certificate of occupancy inspections for developers. Our research
has proven that good facilities do encourage increased commuting by
bicycle, with showers in commercial buildings being the number one
reason that people decide to commute by bike, followed closely by
secure bike parking. The unit has clarified that visitor bike parking
is to be installed exterior to the buildings thus saving County funds
for other projects, while providing the public benefit of making bike
parking easy and convenient  to find, encouraging the public to use
bicycles for errands as well as commuting.

Many of us – myself included – wish that Arlington County would put more resources into ensuring cycling’s place as a safe and viable transportation and recreation option for citizens.  But as this memo shows, Arlington County is certainly not all talk when it comes to promoting a bike culture here.